Using the Quick Bid Calculator
The Quick Bid Calculator is a tool that allows you to enter key details about a location or building and quickly produce a suggested bid amount and proposal.
| Creating a Bid | Using the Calculator |
| Areas | Status |
| Adding Areas | Proposals |
| Editing Areas | Images |
| Actions | |
| Activities | |
| Area Terminology |
Creating a Bid
- Navigate to Tools > Bid Calculator.
- Select + New Bid.
- Name the bid and select a Customer. Optionally, select Create New Customer to add a new client.
- When starting a quick bid for a new contact or company, you’ll need to create them in the Quick Bid Calculator. Previously added contacts will appear in the dropdown.
- To move to the next step, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Save.
- On the next screen, enter the total square feet for the facility you are bidding on, and select a template from the dropdown.
- If you don't see the exact template you need from the dropdown, choose the best fit. The template can be edited later.
- Before moving forward, scroll to the bottom of the screen and select Save.
Duplicating Bids
When duplicating a bid, all details except the Status are copied over.
- Navigate to Tools > Bid Calculator.
- Select the Copy icon in the Action column for a bid.
Areas
Areas in the bidding tool define different sections of the overall location. Examples of areas include entrances, lobbies, restrooms, etc. The information associated with Areas greatly affects the final bid amount.
Adding Areas
Selecting a template will generate areas. Areas can be added and edited to best fit the bid.
- To add a new area, select the + Add Area button.
- Areas can only be added if the Total Area % is less than 100%. To remove an area, click the Trash Can icon in the Action column. Alternatively, you can adjust the Space Allocated for an existing area by select the Edit Pencil.
- Add the required fields and select Save.
Editing Areas
- To edit an area, click the Edit Pencil in the Action column.
- Adjust the fields, as needed.
- Select Save to update the Area.
Actions
Up and Down Arrows - Changes the order of the Areas. Areas will appear in the listed order on the Statement of Work in the proposal.
Plus Icon - Add, edit, and view Activities.
Edit Pencil - Edit and update Areas.
Trash Can - Delete the Area. Deleting an Area is not reversible.
Images - If using mobile bidding, any images added to the Area will appear after clicking the icon.
Activities
Activities can be added to Areas to describe the work being done. Activities do not affect the bid amount.
- To add an Activity, select + Add Activity.
- Select the Edit Pencil for the New Activity.
- Add the name, cleaning frequency, frequency type, and description.
- Select the checkmark in the Action column to save changes.
Area Terminology
Name - This is the name of the area. Examples include offices, lobbies, restrooms, etc.
Area % / Space Allocated (%) - The size of the area as a percentage of the location's total square footage.
SqFt - The square footage of the area, based on the Area %.
SqFt/Minute - The average amount of square feet that employees can clean at this location, per minute.
Floor Type - The type of flooring present in this area. If the information is unavailable, a room type can be selected instead.
Cleaning Frequency - The number of times this area is serviced as per the frequency type.
Frequency Type - The frequency at which the area is serviced (daily, weekly, yearly, etc.).
Weekly Minutes - The number of minutes spent servicing this area per week. This is generated from the SqFt/Minute, Cleaning Frequency, Frequency Type, and area size.
Monthly Minutes - The number of minutes spent servicing this area per month. This is generated from the SqFt/Minute, Cleaning Frequency, Frequency Type, and area size.
Using the Calculator
Using the Calculator on the Quick Bid Tools allows you to generate the costs and employees required to perform your work, along with a suggested bid amount. Adjusting the inputs to reflect your company's costs will result in more concise bid amounts.
- To calculate a bid amount, select the Show Calculator.
- Add/adjust the inputs as described below.
- When complete, select the Update Bid button to recalculate the Suggested Bid Amount.
- To compare a separate bid amount to the Suggested amount, add the value as the Actual Bid amount.
- Once finished with the calculator, select Save at the bottom of the screen, and Next. Selecting Next will bring you to the Status tab.
Calculator Inputs:
- Hourly Labor Rate - The average hourly rate that employees are paid to work at this Location.
- Weekly Employee Hours - The average number of hours each employee works at this Location.
- Supply Rate - The average percentage spent on supplies for this Location.
- Overhead Rate - The average overhead expenses attributed to this Location.
- Gross Margin % - The gross margin you expect to make for the job.
Calculator Outputs:
- Total Weekly Labor (Hours)
- Monthly Labor Cost ($)
- Monthly Supply Cost ($)
- Monthly Overhead Cost ($)
- Monthly Total Cost ($)
- Monthly Gross Margin ($)
- FTE (Full Time Employee, Full Time Equivalent)
- Suggested Bid Amount ($)
Status
Adding a Status to a bid can help you keep track of its process. Some examples of statuses include Won, Lost, Submitted, Draft, etc.
- On the Status tab, begin by selecting a Status from the dropdown.
- Select the Date that the bid entered the status on.
- Optionally, add a note regarding the status.
- Once completed, select Save. Selecting Save will bring you to the Proposal tab.
Proposals
The Proposal feature allows users to generate a document containing contractual information for the bid.
Janitorial Manager's proposal feature simplifies the process by automatically filling in information. Additionally, proposal templates can be divided into individual sections. This allows users to reuse templates for multiple clients and easily edit or remove pieces of information, as needed.
- To begin, select a proposal template from the dropdown. The proposal sections will appear below.
- All accounts have access to the Cleaning Service Proposal Template.
- Select the Edit Pencil for the section you'd like to view/edit.
- The section editor allows text to be added, edited, and removed.
- Information within brackets is automatically pulled from the bid itself. As an example, {{Contact.FirstName}} will pull the contact's first name from the General tab.
- Select the Save button to update the information.
- There are three different ways to generate a bid:
- Selecting Print Bid will save the document as a PDF.
- Selecting Export to Word to save the document as a Word .doc.
- Selecting Email Bid allows you to send a copy of the bid directly through email.
Tip: Need to do any advanced formatting? We suggest exporting the document to Word and making edits from there.
Images
Images can be added to a bid to view later. Any user who has access to the bid can view photos that have been added.
- Navigate to the Images subtab.
- Select the Upload Image button.
- Select the Upload Image button and choose the image file you'd like to add. Optionally, add a remark.
- Select the Save button to add the image to the bid.
- Clicking on the preview of the image will show the full size.
For more information, or to send in a request to the Janitorial Manager support department, use the red 'Help' button in the bottom right corner of any Help Desk article.
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